Investment policy

OECD to assist Tunisia in investment reform and infrastructure projects

01/03/2013 - The OECD, together with the African Development Bank and International Finance Corporation, will assist the Tunisian authorities in implementing a new law on public-private partnerships (PPPs) and a new investment code in order to increase transparency, openness and predictability for investors.

This USD 3.85 million grant was approved by the Steering Committee of the MENA Transition Fund, established in October 2012 by the G8 Deauville Partnership to support economic and governance reforms in Arab Transition Countries.

The grant aims to support Tunisia in implementing PPPs in order to improve the quality of service delivery and infrastructure maintenance, while also reducing the cost of public investment. It also aims to assist Tunisia in the design and implementation of investment reform by supporting the establishment of a sound institutional framework and robust sectoral strategies to boost investment in high-growth sectors.

Specific projects financed from the technical cooperation fund include the establishment of a new PPP Unit and a new Investment Authority. The PPP unit will be responsible for undertaking upstream and downstream project preparation, as well as ensuring that PPPs provide value for money. The New Investment Authority will design and implement investment policy while also ensuring an effective coordination of sectoral ministries.

The OECD will mobilize its policy networks of PPP practitioners and investment policy makers to support Tunisia in the implemention of these projects. The Organisation will be building on the OECD Principles for Private sector Participation in Infrastructure and the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Entreprises, to which Tunisia adhered in May 2012.

The MENA Transition Fund includes 10 donors: namely Canada, France, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.